No, this is not a ruse.

And yes, you did read that correctly. Temperatures are set to reach up to 18 degrees today in some parts of the country, as winter makes an attempt to leave us and spring truly sets in. According to Met Éireann (and my iPhone weather app), Monday is expected to see highs of 18 degrees in Leinster and the midlands with temperatures reaching a nice 13 degrees in other parts of the country. It will, however, be cloudy for most of the day until the afternoon when it is expected to brighten up considerably. There may also be scattered showers throughout the morning, but lads, who cares? 18 degrees. Tomorrow will be more of the same with highs of 18 degrees expected again, along with some isolated showers near northwest coasts where it will stay mostly cloudy. This comes after Met Éireann warned of snow last Friday, with many areas experiencing intense rain showers and hailstones ahead of the weekend. And despite the highs of today, it looks like the questionable weather is not over yet. Although it is warming up considerably, next week temperatures look set to drop again, making way for repeated showers and maybe even some more hail. Oh well, at least we've got today to enjoy.